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Federal Trust Fund Accounting Guide 

Introduction 

Trust Funds 

The Federal Government account structure consists of the following fund types: trust, special, general, 

revolving, and deposit. The fund type for the establishment of a new Federal account is dependent upon 

the terms stated in the legislation. For example, trust funds are established to carry out purposes of a 

trust agreement or statute. 

The Federal Budget of the U.S. Government groups funds into two major categories: trust funds and 

Federal funds. Trust funds are those designated by law as such, whereby receipts are earmarked for 

spending on specific purposes. The laws establishing trust funds may require balances to be invested, 

typically in Treasury debt securities. A small number of trust funds are further categorized as trust 

revolving funds, established to perform business-type operations. The accounting for trust revolving 

funds is similar to that of revolving funds in the Federal fund group. Federal funds include general, 

revolving, and special fund types. (Because deposit funds collect receipts that do not belong to the 

Federal Government, they are excluded from the Federal Budget.) This Guide covers the accounting 

for Federal trust funds only, excluding trust revolving funds. 

Funding sources for some of the larger dollar-volume trust funds include Federal and non-Federal 

contributions, interest on investments, taxes, premiums, State deposits, Federal fund transfers, excise 

taxes, customs duties, fines and penalties, and user fees. These funds generally are deposited in a trust 

fund receipt account. Trust funds finance various activities, including social insurance payments for 

individuals (e.g., social security, Medicare, and unemployment compensation), highway construction, 

and airport and airway development. There are also several smaller dollar-volume trust funds 

established to carry out the terms of gifts or bequests. 

Trust Fund Account Structure and Designation of Availability 

For trust funds established to collect receipts earmarked for specific spending purposes, Treasury 

Appropriation Fund Symbols (TAFS) are established as receipt and expenditure accounts. Receipt 

accounts are credited with receipts generated by the terms of a trust agreement or statute. An example 

of a TAFS trust fund receipt account structure is 20X8000.001. The "20" indicates Treasury, "X" shows 

the period of availability, "8000" represents the trust fund series, and ".001" is the type of earmarked 

receipt. 

Expenditure accounts are established to record amounts appropriated from trust fund receipt accounts 

that are to be expended in carrying out specific purposes according to the terms of a trust agreement or 

statute. Several receipt accounts can be associated with a single expenditure account. In following the 

example above, the TAFS for the trust fund expenditure account structure is 20X8000. 

Receipts are credited to trust fund receipt accounts at the point of collection. Each receipt account 

is designated as either available or unavailable for expenditure. As indicated in Treasury’s Federal 

Account Symbols and Titles (FAST) Book, approximately 99 percent of all trust fund receipt accounts
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are designated as available. An available receipt account carries the same symbol as its 

corresponding expenditure account. Amounts credited to available receipt accounts are appropriated 

immediately, without further legislative action, into the corresponding expenditure account. These 

amounts may then be invested if the legislation prescribes.1 

A trust fund’s designation of availability for investment has no bearing on whether it is available for 

obligation. For receipts collected that are not immediately available for obligation, the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) requires that budget authority and unobligated balances be excluded 

from the SF 133: Report on Budget Execution and Budgetary Resources. However, if the law 

designates the receipts as available for investment, Treasury requires that unobligated balances be 

reported on the USSGL 2108: Year-End Closing Statement. This presents a disconnect in the reporting 

of unobligated balances, which Treasury and OMB acknowledge as a reconciling item. Receipts 

classified as available for investment but not obligation are discussed in Scenario III, Trust Fund 

Receipts Available for Investment but not Obligation. 

Not all funds received by trust funds are deposited to trust fund receipt accounts. For example, amounts 

are credited directly to trust fund expenditure accounts when nonexpenditure transfers occur. 

Nonexpenditure transfers are accomplished via an SF 1151: Nonexpenditure Transfer Authorization, and 

include both appropriation and allocation transfers. Refer to Scenario I, Basic Trust Fund Accounting, for 

further discussion. 

Refer to the flowchart at the end of this section for a basic illustration of a trust fund account structure 

and flow. 

Scenario Presentation 

This Guide is categorized into eight scenarios. The scenarios address specific topics approved by the 

USSGL Board. Each scenario begins with a narrative describing the events that follow. Additional 

scenarios will be forthcoming as guidance is further developed. This Guide also will be updated 

periodically to include new and revised USSGL account titles and transaction descriptions. The 

scenarios are as follows: 

• Scenario I Basic Trust Fund Accounting 

• Scenario II Trust Fund Balances Precluded from Obligation 

• Scenario III Trust Fund Receipts Available for Investment but not Obligation 

• Scenario IV Trust Fund Investments 

• Scenario V Treasury-Managed Trust Fund Allocation Accounts 

• Scenario VI Trust Fund Appropriation Transfers for Specific Treasury Appropriation

Fund Symbols 

• Scenario VII Trust Funds with Contract Authority – Part I: Appropriations to Liquidate 

Contract Authority – Funded by Nonexpenditure Transfers 

• Scenario VIII Trust Funds with Contract Authority – Part II: Transfers of Contract 

Authority 

1

TFM Vol. I Part 2 - Chapter 1500 states that "all trust funds with investment authority are designated as available receipts in 

the Treasury system, even if the receipts of the trust fund are not available to the agency for obligation." 
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Scenario Guidelines 

The following concepts apply to each scenario: 

• The scenarios are not all inclusive of the different types of revenues and/or expenses that 

may be recorded by a trust fund entity. The intent is to illustrate the main concepts through 

basic transactions recorded by trust funds. Refer to Section III, Accounting Transactions, of 

TFM S2-01-02 (as updated) for a complete listing of USSGL accounts that may be recorded 

by trust funds. Section III is located on the USSGL Web site. 

• Trust funds may or may not be subject to apportionment. Apportionments may apply to all or 

a portion of a trust fund. The scenarios vary in nature as to whether the trust fund is subject to 

apportionment. Refer to Section III, Accounting Transactions, of TFM S2-01-02 (as updated) 

for a complete listing of transactions. 

• Budgetary and financial reports reflect the pertinent lines to be reported based on the 

individual scenarios. For full presentations of the reports and line descriptions, refer to the 

appropriate authoritative guidance (see References section below). 

References 

This Guide has been developed based on research of current reference materials and input from Treasury, 

OMB, and agency representatives. The references listed below should be used in conjunction with this 

Guide to determine the proper accounting and reporting treatment required of each individual Federal 

trust fund. The references are as follows: 

Agency’s establishing legislation and/or annual appropriation language

Appendix to the Budget of the United States Government

FASAB's SFFAS #7: Accounting for Revenue and Other Financing Sources

OMB Bulletin 97-01: Form and Content of Agency Financial Statements

OMB Circular A-11: Preparation and Submission of Budget Estimates

OMB Circular A-34: Instructions on Budget Execution and Budgetary Resources

Treasury Financial Manual references

U.S. Government Annual Report - Appendix

Common Terms and Abbreviations 

Common terms and abbreviations used in this Guide are as follows: 

ATB Adjusted Trial Balance

Budget Appendix to the Budget of the United States Government

FASAB Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board

FAST Book Federal Account Symbols and Titles Book

FACTS Federal Agencies' Centralized Trial-Balance System
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USSGL 2108 Yearend Closing Statement

Guide Federal Trust Fund Accounting Guide

OMB Office of Management and Budget

OPAC On-line Payment and Collection system

P&F Program and Financing Schedule

SF 133 Report on Budget Execution and Budgetary Resources

SF 1151 Nonexpenditure Transfer Authorization

SFFAS Statements of Federal Financial Accounting Standards

USSGL United States Standard General Ledger

TAFS Treasury Appropriation Fund Symbol

TAR Treasury Annual Report

Treasury U.S. Department of the Treasury

TFM Treasury Financial Manual

"B" Designation used directly after a USSGL account (e.g., 4114B) to indicate

beginning balance required 

"E" Designation used directly after a USSGL account (e.g., 4114E) to indicate ending 

balance required 

"E-B" Designation used directly after a USSGL account (e.g., 4114E-B) to indicate 

ending minus beginning balance required 

Relevant Web Sites 

Web sites relating to this Guide are as follows: 

FASAB www.financenet.gov/financenet/fed/fasab 

OMB www.whitehouse.gov/omb 

USSGL https://www.fiscal.treasury.gov/fsreports/ref/ussgl/ussgl_home.htm